The most telling moment in Reuben Aziz’s latest single, “circles” isn’t the chorus. It’s the outro, where he quietly swaps “we’re going in circles” for “let’s not go in circles.”
Same melody, two words changed, and suddenly the whole song stops observing and starts asking for something. That’s good songwriting.
“circles” is a track about romantic persistence and the gap between wanting someone and actually reaching them, written over Christmas at Aziz’s Southampton home.
The voice modulation is the decision that could have sunk it. At points you genuinely cannot place Reuben’s voice, which is a strange call for an artist still building name recognition after shotgun. But it works because it serves the melody rather than drawing attention to itself. The guitar intro and the drums are doing similar work, pulling the track into something warm and nostalgic.
“My Nikes crease when I chase after your love” is a good line, better than anything else here because it’s embarrassingly specific. It punctures the smoothness of everything around it.
The honest critique is that “circles” is comfortable in a way that “shotgun” wasn’t. That earlier track had something to prove. This one doesn’t push, and going into a second album, comfortable is a choice worth scrutinising.
Whether Aziz is saving the ambition for the bigger project or genuinely settling into this quieter register, “circles” doesn’t answer that.
Comfortable choice, unresolved questions, but in our books? Still a certified bop.
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